


Help!

by Wolfgirl19



Series: Escape From Blue Sun [4]
Category: Deviant: The Renegades
Genre: Blood and Injury, First Aid, Gen, Good Samaritans, Implied Parental Neglect, Injury, Mentions Of Unethical Experimentation, Tags may be updated with every chapter, but not too much, coarse language, implied trauma, mild violence, tense moments, well this escalated quickly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29564703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfgirl19/pseuds/Wolfgirl19
Summary: After learning they were being tracked, Six and Sebastian split up to evade The Pack, both of them finding some unlikely help.
Series: Escape From Blue Sun [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2155914





	1. The Split

**Author's Note:**

> so it has come to this: a multi-chapter entry. And with daily updates. As always, hope you guys enjoy!

"Damn it! And just as we were about to leave, too!"

This was what Sebastian woke up to from the back of the SUV. Even as the sun barely rose in the sky Six was already awake, ready to leave and upset about something. Sebastian couldn't help but roll his eyes at yet another moment of Six's trademark stubbornness.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Of course something's wrong. The damn thing won't start." She tried turning the keys in the ignition again, the vehicle refusing to work with her. "Be right back."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

She got out of the SUV, popping up the hood to see what was the issue. Nothing seemed too off, Six assuming the car battery died, and just as they were about to leave Tumbleweed after resupplying with what cash they had left and staying for the night. She did another check, the device catching her eye.

A tiny, yet blocky device. Other than the faint red light that blinked every ten seconds, it blended well with the dark paint of the hood until Six spotted it. Curious, Six reached out to grab it from where it stuck, the device refusing to be removed. She stopped what she was doing, worried at how the device looked similar to the ones she learned about long ago.

"Oh shit..."

She left her task to open every door of the SUV and grab whatever item she could, stuffing each item in her grey backpack, Sebastian watching her frantic movements from his seat with a combination of confusion and worry.

"Six? What's going on?" he asked worryingly.

"Tracking device," she hurriedly said. "We need to leave."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Blue Sun," she said quickly. "When they trained me to use my powers for potential spy use, they also taught me and the others about tracking devices if we ever needed to use them. And since our getaway vehicle has one, we need to leave before its owner catches up with us."

Sebastian had nothing else to say, helping Six grab whatever else they needed and ran off with her, using the nearby alleyway as a short cut to leave the parking lot of the cheap motel. Looking back, Sebastian saw the beige RV pull up, members of The Pack flooding out of it to surround the SUV, a smug Mia taking her time to walk to the vehicle, her claws out ready to attack. He was unable to see their reaction to the SUV being abandoned as Six grabbed his hand, the two of them running down the deserted sidewalk, still too early in the morning for the small town's residents to be out and about.

They continued their running when Six dragged Sebastian into an abandoned building, the interior's darkness enveloping them as they hid inside the empty room with a grime stained window near the back half of the building, slamming and locking the door behind them, occasionally pressing their ears against the door to hear if anyone followed them. Sebastian decided to use this time to tell Six,

"The Pack. They planted the tracking device if their surrounding of the SUV is of any indication."

"At least we got away before they noticed," Six replied. "But now they're on our trail, and no ways to escape this time."

"We can always steal a car, ya know," Sebastian offered.

"As much as I want to, Sebastian, stealing a car will be a last resort."

"How ironic of you to say that, since you did steal The Pack's SUV."

"That's because I was taking advantage of their stupid decision to leave the keys in the ignition."

"Well what else do you want us to do, then?" he argued. "They managed to track us all the way here, and are probably searching every nook and cranny of this hick town just to find us. We're nothing more than sitting ducks right now if we don't do anything."

"Hey!" Six snapped. "You try coming up with a plan on the spot."

Their argument was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps echoing through the building, their source taking its sweet time to approach the duo's hiding place.

"Little pigs, little pigs," Mia's suddenly sweet sounding voice echoed, her footsteps closer to the door until they came to an abrupt stop. The duo froze when they heard the light knock on the door. "Let me in."

They desperately scanned the room, Sebastian's eyes on the crate underneath the high up window. He got up and stood on the crate to find the window's latch, pulling it and opening it just as he heard the door crashing apart behind him. Without hesitation, he climbed out and landed in another alleyway, Six falling and landing next to him. They scrambled to get back up and took off again, not looking back to see The Pack chasing after them.

"We need to split up!" Six shouted as they reached the end of the alleyway.

"Are you crazy? That'll make it easier for them to pick us off."

"It's me they want, Sebastian. As much as I hate to say it, they'll kill you regardless if we get captured since you're not considered a prized experiment. You'll have less pursuers if they divert their focus on chasing me."

They were closer to exiting the alleyway, The Pack gaining after them.

"But what if we do outrun The Pack?" Sebastian asked. "Where will we meet up?"

"You know that weirdly shaped hill the map mentioned was somewhere outside of town?"

"Yeah, why?"

Six took the folded map out of her pocket and shoved it in Sebastian's hands.

"We meet up there. And keep this map on you in case I'm unable to accompany you to Ruby. You'll need it more than me if I get captured."

They reached the end of the alleyway, the howls and taunts of The Pack growing louder and louder as the caught up. Six gave one final shout.

"Split!"

They ran in opposite directions upon leaving the alleyway, no idea of where to go or what will happen, the only thing on their minds was to escape.


	2. Good Samaritans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a close call with a Pack member, Sebastian finds himself injured and alone until he meets a human couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick content warning: even though the tags likely mentioned this, this chapter contains blood and mentions of injury, and maybe some implied trauma for poor Sebastian. Anyways, on to Chapter 2.

Sebastian ran as fast as his enhanced speed could allow him, the sounds of The Pack's howling and taunting fading behind him, a sign that he managed to outrun them, thinking that they were far behind now that he made it to the outskirts of town.

Until clawed hands grabbed tightly onto his shoulders.

Sebastian yelped in alarm as he was forced to turn around, face to face with a partially morphed Pack member, Henry based on his green slit eyes and blonde hair that grew into a mane, his clawed hands keeping Sebastian in his grip. Having enough of running, Sebastian did something rare even from him: he swung his fist as hard as he could against Henry's face, the wolf-man unable to react in time to the sudden attack, Sebastian punching hard enough to leave behind a nasty black eye. Henry gave a low growl as he set his prey free, but only to use his now free hands to strike back.

Sebastian missed the attack, landing a kick to Henry's chest in retaliation. Despite the ache in his ribs from the surprisingly hard blow, Henry shrugged it off and clawed at him again, this time hearing Sebastian's screams as his claws dug into his shirt and sliced deeply into his shoulder. Sebastian did his best to endure the intense pain of his wound as Henry dove at him, the hybrid jumping out of the way in time to sprint away, picking up the pace this time. Henry got up from the ground to chase after him, finding himself having a hard time catching up with the faster Deviant.

While Sebastian did manage to get away, his weak, easy to injure body, a result of the extensive and invasive modifications to give him his wings and powers, meant that his wound was bleeding out at an alarming rate than what would be considered normal. Sebastian chose to ignore it, even as blood was soaking through a large portion of his shirt and the ensuing blood loss made him dizzy.

Dizzy to the point his vison was starting to blur, everything around him losing clarity, his mind feeling disoriented, the only thing he was able to make out was the light of the sunrise shining above him. Even with that he couldn't tell where he was or if he managed to lose Henry.

His lack of sight and direction prevented him from seeing the steep slope until it was too late. He regained his sight as he felt himself trip on the edge and rolled down the slope, forcing back a cry as he felt every rock and stone cut and scratch him up, finally landing on the bottom, right on his injured shoulder. He let out pained scream as the impact aggravated the wound. He lied there for some time, his painful body refusing to move for him, when he heard the loud footsteps approaching.

In spite of his body's protests, Sebastian used what strength and energy he could muster to force himself to crawl behind a nearby boulder, large enough to let him hide behind it. The angry growls of Henry grew closer as the footsteps became louder by the time Sebastian hid behind the boulder, doing his best to suppress any sound he made and keep himself from moving another muscle. The footsteps stopped as Henry peered over the edge of the slope, searching for signs of the hybrid he was chasing after. He was about to leave when the sight of glimmering blood drops on the bottom of the slope caught his eye. Drops that formed a trail behind the boulder in front of him. Henry prepared to slide down when he heard his pack mate Todd shout,

"Hey! We haven't checked over here yet!"

Henry gave an annoyed huff before catching up with Todd, figuring he could come back later, leaving Sebastian in his hiding place. Sebastian felt himself feel relieved, grateful that luck favored him this time around.

Once he was sure he was in the clear, he tried crawling again, letting out a pathetic cry when his movements caused a burst of pain in his shoulder. He laid there again, wondering what to do now, his mind encouraging him that he needed to get up, needed to move before Henry came back to attack some more and finish him off. Listening to what his mind had to say for once, Sebastian slowly if carefully stood himself up, balancing himself until he was sure he wouldn't fall over and pass out. Once he was sure he was able to walk, he began stumbling forward, keeping in mind how fast he walked as he went, not caring about where he was going or what was ahead of him.

By the time the sun rose higher, illuminating the desert landscape in an orange glow and painting the sky in bright blue and pink colors, Sebastian saw it.

A long, grey mobile home. the large property it was on surrounded by a chain link fence and gate. A tall, broad man in a plaid shirt and blue jeans sat in a white, plastic lawn chair in the middle of the barely grassy yard, watching the sunrise as he drank a bottle of beer.

Sebastian was close enough to the property to get the man's attention, the man already dropping his drink to quickly grab the handgun from his belt holster. He prepared to demand from the young man who he was and why he was here despite the many no trespassing signs he had up, changing his mind once he saw the way Sebastian walked, how he nearly fell with every step he took. Worried for his well-being and safety, the man put his gun back and ran towards Sebastian, who in turn froze in place, unsure of the intentions of the human in front of him.

"Are you okay?" the man asked with concern. "Do you need help?"

Sebastian had no idea what to do in this situation, not sure if he should ask for help and risk getting exposed, have the man send him back to Blue Sun in worse case scenarios, or stay outside to either die from bleeding out or get finished off by The Pack if they find him. Against the urges to leave his mind was yelling at him, Sebastian made his decision.

"I think I do."

He nearly fell over with the next step he took, the man rushing to grab his arms, helping him stand back up. 

"We need to get you inside."

Sebastian didn't protest at the man's suggestion as he helped lead the hybrid inside his home, careful with how fast they walked as they went. Once inside, a woman was sitting on the living room couch, wondering what her husband was doing with a stranger in their home when she saw the visible wound on Sebastian's shoulder.

"Honey, do I need to call an ambulance-"

"No!" Sebastian pleaded. Seeing their reactions to his sudden shout, Sebastian lowered his voice. "I mean, please. Don't."

The woman gave a quick observation of Sebastian before concluding,

"Harold, get him in the kitchen. I'll grab my kit."

"My wife Shelia works in the hospital back in Tumbleweed," Harold told Sebastian. "She knows how to clean and stitch wounds like yours."

Sebastian was sat down at the dining table of the cramped, dated kitchen, Shelia digging through a cupboard until she found her first aid kit, setting it on the table to open it up and take out what supplies she needed, starting with the bottle of rubbing alcohol and white cloth. She stood in front of Sebastian, the Deviant keeping his grey eyes on her as she checked his shoulder, the feeling of fatigue overwhelming him.

"I'll have to remove your shirt to check your injury, okay?"

He made no response, focusing on keeping himself awake and aware of his surroundings as Shelia began cutting away his shirt with some scissors. He hissed when she peeled away the fabric that stuck to his wound, Shelia looking apologetic at what she did. He paid no further attention as she began wiping down the wound, wincing at the rubbing alcohol applied to the open claw marks. He didn't even hear how she made verbal notes to herself about the injury's appearance and rate of bleeding. 

"Can you tell me how this..."

She trailed off when she noticed the silver feathered things against Sebastian's back, confused by what they were. Sebastian's focus abruptly returned the moment she was looking at his wings. He was wishing he wasn't here, that his wings weren't being exposed. He flinched violently when she tried to touch the feathers on one of his wings, Shelia immediately backing away from him in reaction.

"Wha..." she trailed off again. "What...are those things?"

"Wings," Sebastian quietly said. "Mine, to be specific."

Knowing there was no point in hiding them any longer, Sebastian slowly spread his wings out a bit, allowing Harold and Shelia to stare at them in shock, their jaws open, eyes wide, and minds struggling to comprehend what they were witnessing. Shelia's shock was replaced with concern when she saw the many scars zigzagging across Sebastian's chest and upper arms, many of them resembling surgical scars. What was more surprising was the large, bold tattoo of the letter S on the middle of his chest.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around himself protectively, hating how he was exposed. Hating how he let them see his wings, let them see his scars and tattoo, the latter two shameful reminders of a horrible moment in his life he was trying to escape from.

He desperately scanned the room for a way out with what focus he had left, fighting back at the fatigue gnawing inside him. Eventually it won over him as he felt his body give up, feeling himself falling out of his chair with no way to stop himself as he fell against the tile flooring, the fatigue finally setting in. Shelia and Harold rushed to his sides, shouting things between one another as Sebastian's world faded to black.


	3. Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six has a confrontation with Mia and the rest of The Pack, but also reunites with someone she'd never thought to see again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No quick content warnings this time, except for some brief violence.

Six ran down the empty streets of Tumbleweed, Mia and the rest of The Pack chasing after her.

Six prayed to herself that she got most of them to pursue her after her split up with Sebastian, thinking that being Blue Sun's prized specimen would be enough of a reason for them to leave him alone and chase her instead. Her attention shifted to how The Pack began surrounding her as they ran, ready to pounce at her from all sides. She needed to figure a way to throw them off.

Having an idea, Six made a sudden turn down a narrow alleyway, figuring it would force The Pack to chase after her in a condensed group. She was too late to see that she was running straight towards a dead end. She skidded to a halt, nearly crashing into the brick wall in front of her. She spun around to see The Pack slowly approaching, Mia walking closer to Six with a smug smile, The Pack behind her to make sure they were blocking any potential escape routes Six could use.

"Well if it isn't the psychic, murdering bitch herself," Mia announced. "Funny how one moment you were possessing and killing folks like it was no big deal, the next you're acting like a cornered animal awaiting the inevitable. And if you even try to possess one of us again, we're not armed with anything to shoot with."

The Pack pointed to their belts, no firearm nor holster attached. Mia then held her hands up to show off the claws growing out of her fingertips and opened her mouth to reveal her sharp, uneven fangs.

"Now do me a favor and surrender yourself, or we'll be having some issues."

"If you want to attack me, just get on with it," Six said bluntly. "I've got no time for your empty threats or how you need to show off to me how tough you're supposedly are."

Mia, unamused and feeling offended, snarled and swung her fist at Six's head, the psychic ducking down in time and landing her foot hard on Mia's gut, the wolf-woman almost stumbling backwards from the hit as she rubbed the hurt area. Six prepared to land a punch of her own, too slow for Mia's roundhouse kick to the head, knocking Six to the ground from the impact. As she laid on the ground, rubbing her throbbing head, Mia grabbed and tossed her against the wall. Six closed her eyes in reaction to her head slamming against the wall, the throbbing of her temples and the aching in her head more intense, feeling as if her skull was cracked open.

She opened her eyes to see Mia gripping her sweatshirt to lift her up, forcing Six against the wall in her grip.

"You think you're so good in a fight when, let's face it, you can't prepare yourself for the element of surprise." Mia turned her head a bit, facing away from Six. "Charles. Bring the taser."

Charles, the largest of The Pack, held up the taser in his hand, sparks flying off its metal barbs, Six worrying about how many volts it was emitting.

"And I might've lied when I said we weren't armed," Mia admitted. "But a psychic like you will be easier to handle once we give you a few paralyzing shocks. And is it ready, Charles?"

"Ready, Mia," Charles said. He came closer to where Mia was holding Six. "I'll be honest with you Subject Six when I say that I set this will hurt to the point you feel like you want to die."

As Charles held the taser dangerously close to her neck, Six closed her eyes again, focusing on making her body dissipate. She was successful when she felt her physical form cease, a cloudy mist left behind of what was once her body, Mia gripping on nothing. Mia was arguing with the others over what to do as Six's body materialized outside the alleyway, the psychic not hesitating to take off in a sprint. Mia watched her run off, getting angry over what happened.

"Don't just stand there! After her!" she commanded The Pack.

Six and The Pack were back on the chase, Six this time benefitting from the newfound distance between her and her pursuers. They continued running down the empty streets as the morning sunrise ascended higher above town, Six wishing that someone was out and about now that it was bright out. She started to question to herself where were the people getting ready to open their stores, the people arriving to their work, or where was anyone, really, who could see what was happening and do something about it.

Six's thoughts, and the current chase, were interrupted by the pickup truck that screeched to a halt, barely hitting Six as it came to an abrupt stop. Six stood in place as the passenger door she faced opened wide, the person in the driver's seat a man she'd never thought to see again.

"Boris?"

"No time for chit chat, Six. Hop in."

"Six did what he said, climbing in and buckling up in the passenger seat. Passenger ready to go, Boris stomped on the gas and drove at top speed, Six clinging on to her seat as the human sped away from the wolf hybrids running at them, weaving through a maze of a town layout as he tried to tire out The Pack and find a way to escape, The Pack not giving up or showing signs of slowing as they chased after his truck.

Eventually, The Pack showed signs of slowing down, a few of them stopping to catch their breaths, the rest letting the truck evade them the moment they realized that unlike the avian hybrids back at the Vegas lab, they lacked the stamina needed to continue chasing a moving vehicle on foot. Six smirked at the reflection of Mia chewing out The Pack on her rearview mirror as the truck drove father away. Once they were sure they were far from town, and making sure no one followed them, Boris parked the truck on the side of the highway, ready to ask Six a few questions when she asked a few of her own.

"How'd you find us, or me in this case? And how'd you know I would need help?"

"To answer the first one, let's just say I have my ways. And by that I mean I used spy gear to eavesdrop on The Pack and learned that you and Sebastian would be in Tumbleweed. Second, it was luck that I managed to see that you were in a pickle."

"And you arrived just in time, too."

"Now my turn for the questions."

"What kind of questions?" Six asked.

"Well first, where's Sebastian?"


	4. Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a break from the action as Sebastian finds himself as a dinner guest to the couple who helped him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick breather chapter, since Chapter 5 will be more dialogue heavy and act as something of a backstory entry for one of the characters. 
> 
> There will be implied parental neglect, as a heads up. Warning out of the way, on to Chapter 4.

Sebastian slowly woke up from what felt like a long slumber, the light of the sunset blinding him as it shone through a nearby window, finding himself laying on a soft bed.

A soft, unfamiliar bed.

He quickly sat up, ignoring the flare up in his shoulder to take in his surroundings, his mind scrambling to figure out where he was and why.

Scanning the room, he saw that it was a small, almost empty bedroom, the only furnishings being the bed he was on, the wooden dresser against one of the walls with the mirror hanging above it, and pictures of animals in what appeared to be an attempt at decorating the space. Letting the bedsheet slide off of him he discovered that he now wore an oversized pajama shirt. Seeing that his pants weren't changed, he checked their pockets, feeling relieved when he learned he still had the map Six gave him. Checking his shoulder he found his injury wrapped in gauze.

The door began to open, Sebastian flinching in fright as his mind screamed at him to run, fly, do whatever he could to get out of the room. His fear lessened when the door fully opened to reveal Shelia, who looked mildly surprised as she entered the room.

"You're awake," she said. "How about that."

Sebastian tried to get off the bed, the flare keeping him back as Shelia rushed to the side of the bed, placing a hand on his good shoulder to keep him in place.

"Easy there. You'll need to be careful of your movements," she informed him.

"You didn't take me to a hospital?" he asked.

"Why would I? You said so yourself not to call an ambulance, and seeing those wings on your back is all I need to know as to why you don't want to be taken to a hospital. However, I'll only bring you to the Tumbleweed Medical Center, the hospital I work for, if that injury gets worse, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "I'm actually glad you understand why I refused to go."

"Dinner's on!" Harold announced from the doorway, able to see that Sebastian was awake already. "Perfect timing, too, cause I saved some food in case you woke up. You like chili, don't you?"

Sebastian's growling stomach answered for him, the hybrid holding his hands against his gut as if to hide the noise, looking at Harold with slight embarrassment.

"That's definitely a yes right there. And don't worry, we've got plenty to go around."

As much as his mind reminded him that he needed to leave, to find Six and continue their trip to Sofia's, Sebastian chose to stay, thinking that dinner with the humans who helped him wouldn't hurt.

He carefully got up from the bed, not feeling as dizzy or fatigued like he was earlier that morning, and no flare up thanks to how cautious he moved.

"Are you even sure you can walk, though?" Shelia asked with concern. "You had a hard time walking and staying awake after losing a surprising amount of blood."

"I'm sure," Sebastian replied. "I haven't passed out yet, so that's a start."

The three of them were eventually sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, Harold and Shelia chatting about something trivial as Sebastian ate his food, paying no attention to their conversation and doing his best not to scarf down his meal like he usually did on those days where his next meal was something not a prepackaged bought at a gas station convenience store or fished out of a dumpster.

"So," Shelia eventually said to Sebastian. "Is there anything else you need? Anyone I call call for you?"

"Not really," he replied, her offer not applicable to his current situation anyway.

"Can you at least tell us your name?" Harold added.

"Sebastian. My name is Sebastian."

"Like the S tattoo on your chest?"

Sebastian fell silent at the mention of the tattoo, his designation tattoo. He turned his head away from Harold as if the topic were shameful to him. Harold was worried he might've inadvertently brought up a distressing subject when Sebastian forced himself to face him again to say,

"No, not that...I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh. I see." Harold thought of a different topic to discuss, one he assumed wouldn't be as distressing. "Those things on your back are wings, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Can you fly with them?" Harold realized what he just said. "That was probably a stupid question," he admitted.

"It's not stupid, but yeah, I can fly thanks to them."

"What's it like?" Harold asked more curiously, sounding excited. 

"Faster travel than walking or driving, that's for sure. Just can't right now because of the shoulder injury."

"Are there others like yourself?" came Shelia's question.

"With wings? Just me."

"What do you mean by that?"

Sebastian mentally kicked himself for letting that slip. As much as he wanted to keep Six's identity and existence secret from them, he concluded it wouldn't hurt to tell them as long as he gave only bits of information.

"There's this girl," he began. "But she's not a hybrid like me. She's a bit different in her powers."

"Powers?" Harold asked. "What kind of powers?"

"I'd rather not elaborate further, for her safety, of course." Sebastian got up from the table. "Besides, I need to leave to meet up with her. And knowing her, she might get over the top worried if I don't meet her within a certain amount of time."

He began exiting the kitchen, heading to the front door when Shelia shouted,

"Wait!"

He turned back to see what she was shouting for.

"I need to make sure you are in good health before you leave, just to be on the safe side. Not to mention, you still haven't finished your food, so at least stay for that."

The concern on her face and the offer to check his wound, not to mention the hospitality she and Harold showed so far convinced Sebastian to stay just a little longer, figuring that Six can wait for him some more.

After dinner, Shelia and Sebastian were alone in the kitchen as she changed the gauze wrapped around his shoulder wound, their removal allowing Sebastian to see that she stitched the claw marks. He shivered at the sight, the stitches reminding him of the nastier, larger ones his chest and upper arms once adorned. Shelia stopped her work when she saw his current distress.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um, no," he lied, getting his shivers under control.

"Are you sure?" she asked, sounding doubtful of his answer.

He nodded, not wanting to talk to her about it.

"It's okay if you don't tell me, you know," she said. "I'm not one to always expect or force an answer out of others if they're acting distressed."

He kept quiet as she finished her work, making sure the new gauze wasn't falling off as she announced,

"And that's that. Not as bad as earlier, but it still needs time to rest, meaning you shouldn't go outside for a while."

"But I have someone waiting for me, and she's probably worried sick about where I am right now."

"I'm sure she can wait until tomorrow," Shelia told him.

"Tomorrow? That's not gonna cut it for me."

He stood up and tried leaving the kitchen, the newfound flare up in his shoulder from the fast movements keeping him in place.

"Please," she begged. "You need to rest up. When tomorrow comes, I'll do nothing to stop you from leaving, but all I want now is for you to take it easy and not stress your injury further. Do it for both your sake and mine."

Sebastian paused, thinking of how Shelia was right, how he needed rest for his injury before he could meet up with Six. The fact she and Harold were going out of their way to help him, and how Shelia's begging him to stay for the sake of his wellbeing reminded him of a concerned mother, treatment he rarely if ever got from his own mother before what Blue Sun did to him. These things gave him a reason to stay the night.

"Okay," he agreed. "But only for tonight. I need to leave first thing tomorrow."

Shelia smiled at that.

"But where will I sleep?" Sebastian asked.

"We'll still let you sleep in Caleb's room."

"Caleb?"

"Our son," Harold answered as he entered the kitchen, his sights on the large cookie jar near the stove. "He took everything except the bed and dresser when he moved to California to attend university, so it's free for you to use tonight." He took a chocolate chip cookie out of the jar, immediately munching down on it. He grabbed another one and held it towards Sebastian. "Cookie?"

"Sure."

As soon as he finished his treat, Sebastian went back to Caleb's room for the night. Before he slept, he stared at the ceiling in the dark, wondering how to tell Six why he took so long when they reunite without her flipping out over exposing his wings to others, assuming she wasn't captured by The Pack and being to sent back to Blue Sun already. If that wasn't the case, he hoped she wasn't already getting over the top worried about him.

"Please be okay, Six," he said to the ceiling, as if Six was able to hear him from the room. "And I might be late if that's okay with you."


	5. Tale of a Blue Sun Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a near argument, Boris tells Six the story of how he came to realize the truth about Blue Sun's cruelty, how he came to know her and Sebastian, and what he plans to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: a very dialogue heavy and backstory filled chapter ahead! Not to mention that this chapter contains mentions of unethical experimentation.

Six checked her watch for the fifth time tonight still no sign of Sebastian as she went back to checking the sky.

Even as the stars were the only things visible above her, Six kept her view on the night sky, expecting Sebastian to fly towards the flat, weirdly shaped top of the hill she stood on and land next to her, fine, well, and more importantly, no Pack members following him. The fact that it was late out made Six worried, the psychic doing her best to shake away thoughts telling her that the worst case scenario occurred, that The Pack finally got their hands on him. She had to force herself awake every few minutes, doing what she could to not give in to her drowsiness.

"Six! It's late out!" Boris shouted from the hill's base. "You don't have to do lookout all night, you know!"

Six carefully climbed down the hill's side, running back to the truck as Boris adjusted the truck's seats to flatten them into makeshift beds.

"He's probably just late," Boris said as he worked.

"Terribly late," Six replied with worry. "What if The Pack did get him? What if while we were hiding out here he got killed and is currently lying dead in a pool of his own blood and torn up flesh?"

"Six, you're letting your worries get to you. Then again, you do have every right to be concerned of his whereabouts."

"Funny how you say that, since you're not as concerned as myself," Six commented.

Boris turned away from his truck to face Six.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, almost sounding defensive.

"Well, you haven't shown any signs of worry as we waited here all day nor did you agree to sneak around Tumbleweed to try finding him."

Boris shook his head. "It's too dangerous to be in town unless we absolutely have to. And like you Six, I have every right to be worried about where Sebastian is."

"You sure don't show it."

"Six, I'm a level-headed guy, a result of the expectations put on me back when I was an assistant of the Blue Sun Hybrid Team. That means I didn't, and still don't, let my emotions get the best of me."

"I wonder, though, how level-headed you were the day you and your co-workers performed whatever tortures you inflicted on Sebastian."

"Please don't bring that up," Boris pleaded. "I'd rather forget that horrible moment of my life."

"Horrible moment?" Six mocked. "Horrible moment? Prior to the whole containment breach fiasco back in Vegas, you looked and acted like you didn't care about what happened to those you helped alter into hybrids. And how you never showed remorse every time you passed the grafting ward whenever the screams of the Hybrid Team's current victim echoed through the hallways."

"Again, please, I'd rather not discuss it."

"Well look at you, the so called level-headed human is finally showing emotion as I ask him how he truly feels of the atrocities he's done nothing to stop, what violations of human rights he failed to report, how many lives were lost in the name of creating a perfect hybrid. So tell me one thing, Boris. Do you actually care about what happened to all those people? Of what you assisted in? Or do you rely on that emotional suppression of yours to bury your feelings, hiding how you truly feel?"

"I said stop!" Boris snapped, Six flinching backwards in response to his outburst, thinking she might've pushed him too far.

Boris felt the anger that overcame him diminish, standing still for what felt to him were several minutes as the anxiety and guilt over how he reacted consumed him, the façade of a calm, collected man he always kept up finally shattered.

"I..." he forced himself to say. "I... you are right," he admitted. "I did not care. Until the day I was assigned to assist in Sebastian's hybridization procedure."

"This is gonna be a long story, isn't it?"

"Why yes, Six. You may want to take a seat for this."

She sat on a small boulder as Boris began his story.

"You see, it started with me being newly hired by Blue Sun after their CEO Samuel Joseph was impressed by my theories in hybridization and for breaking a few research rules in my quest for progress. Hell, I took the job offer on the sole basis that they were willing to hire me, so I wasn't paying much attention to what I was told I would do once I was assigned to work at the main lab in Las Vegas, the fact that a newbie like myself wasn't allowed to engage in the hybridization procedures for a while being another factor of my ignorance of what happened behind closed doors.

Then came the day where I was allowed to assist the head of the Hybrid Team, can't remember the name, but who she was isn't important. What was important was that she asked me to assist in the hybridization of Sebastian for my first ever hybridization procedure."

"So what exactly did they do to him?"

A silence hung in the air before Boris continued.

"Most of the details for how we do the grafting and body modifications are things you'd rather not know, but you do know how the Psychic Studies Team gave you anesthetics for the procedures to activate your powers, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Realization hit her. "Oh god, you don't mean-"

"I did what I could to convince the others to make the procedure as painless as possible for him. Let's just say they only half listened to my suggestions. That was the moment I saw for myself how Blue Sun didn't give a damn about what they did to those they experimented on as long as it gave them the desired results."

"So that was your eye opening moment to what Blue Sun did to those they kidnapped?" 

Boris gave a quick nod.

"Why did you stay with Blue Sun for as long as you did, then? Why didn't you raise the alarm while you still could?"

"Six, you know that Blue Sun does whatever they can to silence the whistleblowers, right? And because it was drilled in my head that I would die if I exposed anything confidential, I kept my mouth shut for the duration of my time spent there before the events that led us to where we're at right now. I did, however, do what I was able to in order to make up for what happened that day, starting with caring for my test subjects. It took a long time to earn his trust, and I don't blame Sebastian for his hesitance, but we eventually became a father son type pair, me making sure his well being came first for every experiment afterwards, acting as a shoulder to cry on, and in general, treating him as an actual human being and not an experiment."

"And what about when Sebastian and I became friends?" Six asked.

"I made sure to keep my distance from you two, since I didn't want him to feel like I was an intrusive parent type, or the embarrassing father character even, and because the distrustful glares you gave me basically told me to keep my distance."

"That was back when I was unsure I could trust you, though," Six pointed out.

"I knew that. Plus, I didn't want to feel like I was in the way, especially anytime you were stroking his wing feathers and he was patting your head, signs that told me you both were coping after a distressing day. The only time you truly put your trust in me was when I escorted you two through the emergency escape tunnels during the containment breach."

"You helped me, or us mostly, that day, Boris. Of course I would trust you for what you did, what you risked to help us escape. If it weren't for that, I would probably still be trained to be a living weapon right now."

He gave a nod of acknowledgement. "It was that day in particular that I knew I had to do the right thing by helping you two. After being forced to go on the run once word of what I did reached Samuel and his groups of enforcers such as The Pack, I made it my new goal to atone for what I assisted in, how I ignored Blue Sun's crimes for too long."

"How are you going to do that, though?" Six questioned. "Blue Sun is too powerful and will kill you for exposing them like you said, or at least ruin what life you have left if they're feeling merciful, and knowing them, that's not gonna happen unless hell freezes over."

"As someone who'd rather not make life harder for myself, I was thinking about starting small."

Six stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean, starting small?"

"I was hoping that when Sebastian arrives, I could ask you two to travel with me."

"To where, exactly?" she asked. "Assuming you have a plan."

"I don't," he admitted. "But I was thinking we could travel until we find a place where Blue Sun and it's branches and allies won't be able to find us. That is, if you agree to."

Six took a moment to process his offer. "I think we should discuss this once Sebastian arrives, assuming he will. Besides, we already have plans to meet with the only relatives I remember are still around before I was kidnapped and given my powers."

"You already have a plan?" Boris said with surprise. "That's actually smart of you."

"Well I do act as the brains when I'm not being the brawler or gun slinger," Six bragged. "But this isn't about me. We should wait to see if Sebastian will show before we make any agreements of your offer."

"I agree. Considering it's late out now, he may not show up until morning."

"Only one way to find out."

They got in the truck, adjusting themselves on their reclined seats to make themselves comfortable before calling it a night. Boris fell fast asleep in his seat as Six stared out the passenger seat window, praying to herself that Boris was right.

"Please, Sebastian," she whispered. "Please be okay."


	6. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian meets up with Six, finally, and learns that someone else accompanied her to their meeting place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings, goofy or serious, this time. Now let's get to the regularly scheduled chapter.

It was morning when Sebastian was preparing to leave, and that he was finally able to move around without having to worry about a sudden flare up in his shoulder.

Before leaving, Shelia and Harold gave him two things: an old, oversized green shirt of Harold's, complete with slits in the back for his wings, and a large, stuffed backpack Shelia mostly shoved into his arms.

"I can't take this," Sebastian said, wanting to give the backpack back.

"Please," she insisted. "It's the least we can do. Not to mention you'll make better use of it for whatever's ahead."

"Anything else you need?" Harold asked. "No last minute items you need before you head out?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I'll be fine. But I do have one last thing I want to tell you both."

"What is it?"

"Thank you. For helping me. Even though you two barely knew who I was when I stumbled upon your home, you still went out of your way to help me."

"No problem," Shelia replied. "It's the least we can do, helping strangers in need, after all."

The clock on the wall chimed, the time reading 7:00 a.m., and Sebastian's cue to wrap up the conversation and leave.

"I guess this is the part where I go, then. I'd rather not keep who I'm meeting up with waiting any longer."

"Will we ever see you again?" Shelia asked him.

"To be honest, I'm pretty sure we won't."

She gave an acknowledging nod as he stepped outside, the mobile home behind him as he exited through the yard's gate. Giving one final glance at the mobile home Sebastian saw the human couple waving goodbye at him from the porch, giving them a wave back in return before letting his wings spread out for takeoff, jumping up and flying higher and higher in the sky as Shelia and Harold watched on with awe. He gave one final look at the world below him, swearing that he saw the couple still waving goodbye as he flew farther away from the property, feeling the morning chill on his face as he flew through the partly cloudy desert sky. As he sped past what clouds were around him, he got the map out from his pocket to make sure he was heading in the right direction, and preparing himself to calm a potentially worried Six.

But a thought came to mind: how would he explain what happened to him without getting Six upset that he revealed his wings?

***

Morning came and still no sign of Sebastian, Six beginning to worry again for him as she scanned the sky for any signs of his arrival from her viewing spot on the hill. Back at the hill's base, Boris was doing a final check of what supplies he packed with him as preparations for hitting the road, worried himself for both Sebastian's whereabouts and how Six desperately searched the sky for him. As much as Boris wanted to climb up the hill to give reassurance, and maybe convince her to come back down, he decided he shouldn't, knowing full well of how stubborn the psychic can be when she has her mind set on something.

Six, meanwhile, gave out a sigh, coping with the fact that maybe he wasn't coming. That she would have to continue the trip to Sofia's with Boris's help, if the human agreed to do so, that is. She gave one final look towards the sky when she spotted it.

She held a hand over her eyes to block out the sunlight, getting a better look at the figure flying around among the clouds. She questioned what it was as it came closer, the silhouette of a winged humanoid flying fast in her direction. Six was about to run for it, thinking it was one of Blue Sun's more devoted of their avian hybrids somehow tracking her down, stopping herself upon spotting the figure's white hair and silver wings from how close it hovered above her.

"Sebastian!" she happily yelled, jumping up and down, waving her arms to get his attention. He seemingly saw her, flying straight to where she was.

"Look out below!" he yelled back.

She moved out of the way to allow him to land next to her, pulling back his wings and making sure his backpack hasn't fallen off his back. Sebastian was unprepared when Six ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug, nearly falling down from Six tossing herself at him, squeezing him hard with her hug. Regaining balance so they both wouldn't fall, he hugged her back, overjoyed himself that she was alive and well.

"I was starting to worry that The Pack finally got you, that I wouldn't see you again."

"I'm here now, and that's all that matters," he reassured, patting her head, Six returning the favor by stroking his wing feathers. And it wasn't out of the need for a coping mechanism like they did in the past, but as a way to assure one another they were both alright. 

It was when they parted that Six noticed the changes in Sebastian's appearance, or more specifically, the shirt he wore and the backpack he carried on his back.

"Sebastian? What exactly happened to you?"

"I'd rather explain later," he answered. "Cause you might start yelling at me if I told you."

He barely told her anything yet Six already had the feeling that she wouldn't like what he had to say.

The honk of a car horn got their attention, the duo peeking over the hill's edge to see Boris was honking his truck's horn to grab their attention.

"I bet that's Boris's way of telling us it's time to leave," Six commented.

"Wait, Boris is with you?" Sebastian asked with surprise, not expecting to see Boris again, or even with Six for that matter. "How did he even get all the way out here? I thought we parted ways once we left the escape tunnels."

"I'll explain once we down this hill."

"I guess we all have some explaining to do."

"But he did tell me to wait until you arrived so he could ask both of us a question," Six added.

"A question?"

"Yes. He wants to know if we want to travel with him until we find someplace Blue Sun won't reach us. As much as I appreciate the offer, I do have my doubts, not to mention that we're already set on getting to Sofia's, and that he may or may not make a change in plans and agree to join us for the rest of the trip to Ruby."

"I'm sure we can sort something out."


	7. On Our Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not wanting to put up with being a failure, Mia resorts to a plan, one that makes The Pack question her state of mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings this time around (unless mentions of creepy taxidermy count). Now let's get on with the final chapter!

Mia knew one thing and one thing only: she was fucked.

She paced back and forth inside The Pack's RV, wondering what to say and what to do when Samuel checks in on their progress. She wanted him to feel proud of the fact that she managed to track down Subject Six and Subject S again, even had Subject Six in her clutches prior to the psychic using her teleportation powers to escape, her efforts at least not in vain. But she knew that no matter what, Samuel would still be disappointed in her, remind her how much of a failure she is in his eyes, of how he can never be pleased in her achievements, no matter how small.

And the final nail in the coffin if things went too far would be being killed by his own bare hands, Samuel being well known amongst his enforcers and members of his inner circle for killing those who outlive their usefulness, the really unlucky ones being remade into crudely reassembled trophies in his manor's taxidermy room for him to gawk at or use as a subtle warning for what happens to those who fail or give him a reason to prove their uselessness. The thought of becoming a trophy only made Mia's already uneasy state of mind worse.

The rest of The Pack sensed her anxiety, watching from the table as she continued her pacing silently, unsure if they should utter a word. They continued watching as she slowed down, an idea forming in her head.

"You guys know how we report to Samuel at least once a day, right?"

They nodded.

Mia held up her cellphone, The Pack wondering where this was going when she threw it on the floor, the glass screen cracking on impact. She used her boot to smash the rest of her phone into irreplaceable scrap. Finished up, she pushed the laptop off the table, the device almost snapping in two, Mia using her boot again to finish the job.

The Pack only watched on with their jaws dropped as she smashed their only ways of contacting Samuel, questioning if their leader was losing it, their eyes darting back and forth between one another as if expecting someone to speak up about it. Todd did, wanting to figure out what the hell was happening.

"Mia? Are you alright?"

"Alright?" she mockingly repeated. "Of course I'm alright, Todd. Nothing is wrong."

"Then why are you-"

"It's part of the plan, moron. All we have to do so Samuel won't slit out throats is to cut ourselves off from him and the rest of Blue Sun for a while."

"Have you lost it, Mia?" Charles interjected, clearly questioning her current train of thought. "That means we'll be on our own for this."

"I know, but we're a pack. We'll figure something out. We always do."

"But how are we going to track them down without relying on the gear or assistance we usually use?" Henry asked.

"You all know how this highway leads into the Sierra Nevada mountains, and only travels up those mountains before it meets the next junction?"

"Mia, where are you going with this?" Charles asked, already feeling that he wouldn't like what she said next.

"What I'm saying, Charles, is that we just drive along the highway and snoop around every town or rest stop we arrive in until we get a lead or just stumble upon our prey through blind luck. And we'll be sharpening our investigation skills while we're at it."

"Are you sure this will work, though?" Todd asked doubtfully.

"Of course it'll work," she said. "As long as you all do what I say, the plan will work."

"Will it, Mia? Cause you sound like it won't."

"Shut it!" she scolded. "One more objection come out of that mouth of yours and I'll-"

"Okay, shutting up now." Last thing Todd needed was to piss off Mia, so he kept his objections to himself, for now.

"Now let's get moving," Mia ordered. "We can't afford to waste time lounging around. And make sure you all destroy any device that can be tracked. Last thing I want is for Blue Sun to track us and give Samuel the news of what we're doing."

Not hesitating, The Pack got to work destroying any device they assumed was trackable and preparing their RV for the long trip ahead. Once they were done, they drove off, leaving the town of Tumbleweed behind them.

While the rest of The Pack questioned to themselves how effective Mia's plan was, Mia herself thought about how she had no idea if this would work now that they're resuming the hunt without any help or connections, or how they would catch up to their prey before Samuel got word of what they were doing, and likely plan an extreme punishment for hiding the fact they failed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of Part 4! Any updates will be slow from the fact that 1. I'm empty on ideas, and 2. I'm not sure what path the series will take from here. Then again, that's my well of a brain for ya, full of ideas one moment and running dry of ideas the next. 
> 
> As for those who took their time to read this (or the rest of the Escape From Blue Sun series in general), thank you so much! The fact that there's folks like you who are reading this author's least viewed series means a lot. And don't worry for all of you interested in what happens next. I'm sure my aforementioned empty well of a brain will think of something (even if it'll take a while for an idea to spring up). With these end notes out of the way, hoped you guys enjoyed Part 4!


End file.
